| S Mcilroy |
11 December 2002 |
Stayed at Bishop Lei International - Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
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I did not do any tours but there is an excellent book at the airport that gives you walking tours of Hong Kong. These are easy to follow and they take you through some interesting areas. Also if you plan on catching a bus to Stanley please be advised that you must go with exact money otherwise they will not let you on. They will not give change and I also found the Central bus station will not change your notes for coins. You have to find a bank to get change.
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| J Lau |
10 December 2002 |
Stayed at YMCA - The Salisbury - Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
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The public transportation system is efficient and can get you to most places quickly. Taxi is also fairly inexpensive. Buses from airport to downtown hotels could be quite a bit of time (more than an hour) due to downtown traffic, especially if your hotel is located at the end of the route.
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| M Rondoni |
10 December 2002 |
Stayed at YMCA - The Salisbury - Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
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Hong Kong is always fascinating. It is particularly helpful to learn how to use the public transportation system. Hong Kong is also a great city to simply discover things by wandering around. You do not need a specific destination to enjoy the place. The buses and trams are interesting to see the city in a random way.
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| M Chin shao meng |
09 December 2002 |
Stayed at Pruton Prudential Hotel - Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
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I love the transportation system in HK, you can get MTR, buses, tram to everywhere you want. Must try 'dim sum' here, the best I have tasted. Yummy, it's a shopping and eating paradise!
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| R P. knight |
09 December 2002 |
Stayed at Two Macdonnell Road - Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
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Best way to get around is by taxi. MTR and the buses, one of which goes to Central from outside the hotel. On 10 Minute walk from Central or Pacific Place Shopping.
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| S Barlow |
08 December 2002 |
Stayed at Bishop Lei International - Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
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Definitely buy an Octopus card. It makes going on the buses and metro so much easier.
Take a trip to Stanley on the south of the island. There's excellent views from the bus and the market at Stanley is great.
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| D Simpson |
07 December 2002 |
Stayed at YMCA - The Salisbury - Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
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This was our second visit to Hong Kong and our first to Kowloon. We stayed 3 days on the Kowloon side before moving over to Hong Kong Island to join the rest of our group for a further 8 nights.
Walking is an ideal way to get around both on the Island and in Kowloon. We picked up a pamphlet from our hotel on walking tours and spent days exploring both the back and main streets and enjoying all the resulting cultural experiences. The MRT is very easy to use and city street maps are readily available and should be carried at all times - especially for when you pop up out of a station and have completely lost your bearings!
Use the Star Ferry. It's easy and the best value scenic trip there at HK$2.20 and do one of your trips at night time to see the lights on either side of the Harbour. Hong Kong harbour at night, especially if the Chrismas decorations are up, or a cruise liner coming or going, must nearly be one of the 7 wonders of the world.
We visited in early December and the weather was surprisingly cool - believe the guide books! 13-19 degrees during day with some 25 degree days thrown in for confusion.
You probably need to visit the many and varied markets: Stanley Market for the clothes and the bus ride there; The Night Market for hand bags, phones, watches; Ladies Market seemed to be the place for more handbags and the padded bra; The Bird Market, if only to be introduced to the 'live' bird food; the Flower Market, definitely the most pleasant smell we came across; the Jade Market - only a little knowledge would be a dangerous thing!
A trip up the Peak tram was a memorable experience - talk about life hanging on a thread. Enjoy the magnificent view on a clear day but leave your shopping money in your pocket as retail prices are high.
We did excellent tours to Macau and China on our previous visit so concentrated this time on the local experiences and were not disappointed. We were lucky enough to be granted temporary membership of the Hong Kong Football Club and full use of its facilities for our stay. A wonderful complex with free views of race night at the adjacent Happy Valley, thrown in.
Eating places are many and varied and it's good to try a variety. English translations are not always humourous misprints - 'stir fry seasonal vegetable' was indeed one vegetable and not a mixed stir fry as one wife found out when her meal of bok choy arrived. Smoking is still allowed in restaurants so some establishments lost our group's custom as a quick measure of the 'fog' levels quickly had us going somewhere else.
Hong Kong is a great place to visit. Our previous visit of 2 weeks had been 6 months prior to the handover to the Chinese. This time we noticed many more Chinese people and far fewer Europeans. Most seem to understand a few basic words of English and being a tourist there is no problem. Enjoy it!
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| L Choon lee |
06 December 2002 |
Stayed at YMCA - The Salisbury - Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
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It's very easy to get around the place. The MTR stations give good signs and the buses are easy to figure out. There's also plentiful of places to eat. Just pop into any eating place and you'll never run out of choices.
We've visited only normal eating houses, not restaurants and they are all equally good.
If you are thinking of visiting ShenZhen, it would be good to join a tour group as the immigration at the border is extremely chaotic.
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| T Tynan |
05 December 2002 |
Stayed at Shamrock Hotel - Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
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Love Hong Kong...but I wish the people walking on the street were as polite and considerate as the drivers in Hong Kong; watch out for the little old ladies; they will knock you down without a moment's hesitation...Believe it or not, great great place for beaches (off outer islands).
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| S Liszewski |
05 December 2002 |
Stayed at Imperial Hotel Hong Kong - Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
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Hong Kong was quite enjoyable, if quite crowded. Highlights for a first time visitor: the Peak Tram, the 6 or 6A bus over the top of Hong Kong island to Stanley, and the Star Ferry. Those are the musts.
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Traveller's Tales: Getting around in Hong Kong
